Worker’s unrest continues in B’desh; vehicles vandalised in Ashulia

The ongoing readymade garment workers’ agitation in Bangladesh is showing no signs of abating, with reports of RMG workers laying siege to the Dhaka-Tangail highway in Ashulia and vandalising at least 20 vehicles coming in, on Saturday morning.

As per media reports, at around 9:30 am this morning, hundreds of workers of five garment factories took to the streets in Jamgora area halting traffic movement on the highway. The protest by the workers’ led police to intervene in an effort to clear the highway.

The cops reportedly resorted to baton charge and using water cannons to disperse the agitating workers in which 15-20 people were reportedly injured including occupants of some passenger vehicles, who were travelling on the highway.

The agitating workers’ also reportedly vandalised around 20 vehicles in Ashulia.

It may be mentioned here that Bangladesh has been in the grip of workers’ agitation in the last few days on the issue of the new minimum wage. The workers have alleged that the monthly wage in the seventh grade has been increased to Taka 8,000 from Taka 5,300 as per the latest gazette published by the Government last year. But the salaries of the workers in other grades have reportedly not been increased at the same rate, which have led the workers to hit the roads to press their demands in this regard.